The Chronicles of juanmasipag2009—Cyberactivism in Canlubang

For those who are familiar with social networking sites like Facebook, sharing your views to the world has never been easier.  Communication of ideas , organizing people’s movement to support or even finance a cause can be done in an inexpensive and timely manner.  This is cyberactivism, wherein the internet is utilized to spread local information into a large audience, through email or online forums, opinions and discussions on various issues can be facilitated.  By creating awareness among the masses, advocators can have a great deal of effect in the opinions, or even actions of the public.  Remember the “Stop Con Ass Now” cause in Facebook which have generated more than 30,000 signups.  The “Juana Change” in Youtube, have generated more than 50,000 views.  Greenpeace on the other hand, a world-wide environmental organization has been using cyberactivism to promote their campaigns and have persuaded a number of companies to observe environment-friendly standards.

In Calamba City, a group of advocators have started to use this medium to air their campaign against social injustice in the heart of a so-called progressive city of Laguna.  If you visit www.youtube.com/juanmasipag2009, you will see videos of actual demolition in Barangay Canlubang.  How families were uprooted from their homes without any concrete plan for their relocation.  Sadly, inaction of the local government is reflected in these footages.  Disregarding the basic human rights of these families, despite of the fact that these people have been living in these lands since 1910.  Aside from land issues, juanmasipag2009 also attempted to inform visitors about the CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) between the Yulos and the farmers, which supposedly guaranteed retirement and housing benefits for employees of the Canlubang Sugar Estate, but apparently, was not given to the farmers.  This effort to inform the locals of the real situations of the people in this barangay, and perhaps create awareness among the people of the whole Calamba, has received comments of sympathy as well as antagonistic words from opposing factions.  Although juanmasipag2009 is a small voice in the midst of an influential clan and a powerful land magnate, but history of the world had seen common people became heroes of the masses, and let us not forget, the democracy that we are enjoying today was founded from the very courage of the so-called “underdogs”.--APS